Cristiano Ronaldo Biography

( 1985 – )

Cristiano Ronaldo
Professional soccer player. Born Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro on February 5, 1985 in
Madeira, Portugal, a small island off the western coast of the country. Ronaldo, The youngest of
Maria Dolores dos Santos and Jose Dinis Aveiro’s four children, was named after Ronald
Reagan, a favorite actor of his father’s.

Ronaldo grew up in a largely working class neighborhood, his home a small tin roofed shack that
overlooked the ocean. His early life was shaped by hardship; his father, a gardener, often drank
too much, and eventually died from kidney problems in 2005. To help keep the children fed, and
maintain some financial stability, Ronaldo’s mother worked as a cook and cleaning person.

It was through his dad’s work as an equipment manager at a boy’s club that Ronaldo was first
introduced to the game of soccer. By the time he was 10, he was already recognized as a
phenomenon—a kid who ate, slept, and drank the game. “All he wanted to do as a boy was play
football,” his godfather, Fernao Sousa, recalled for British reporters. “He loved the game so
much he’d miss meals or escape out of his bedroom window with a ball when he was supposed
to be doing his homework.”

It was through his dad’s work as an equipment manager at a boy’s club that Ronaldo was first
introduced to the game of soccer. By the time he was 10, he was already recognized as a
phenomenon—a kid who ate, slept, and drank the game. “All he wanted to do as a boy was play
football,” his godfather, Fernao Sousa, recalled for British reporters. “He loved the game so
much he’d miss meals or escape out of his bedroom window with a ball when he was supposed
to be doing his homework.”

But Ronaldo’s time in England was marred by his mother’s 2007 struggle with breast cancer as
well as his father’s death from alcohol-related illness. The latter was especially hard for Ronaldo
as the two had been close, and the young athlete had often pushed for his father to enter rehab
and address his drinking. His father, however, never accepted the offer.

As lauded as Ronaldo was on the field for United, his commitment to the club came under
constant question. Speculation swirled that he wanted to play elsewhere. So in 2009, when Real
Madrid agreed to pay United a record $131 million for the chance to sign him, nobody was all
that surprised to see Ronaldo leave the club.